Big news: Disney+ continues to exceed expectations as other business lines are negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Disney+ subscribers (QoQ growth):
1) 2019-Q4 – 28.6M
2) 2020-Q1 – 54.5M (↑ 91%)
3) 2020-Q2 – 60.5M (↑ 11%)
4) 2020-Q3 – 73.7M (↑ 22%)
Disney streaming subscribers by platform according to Variety:
1) Disney+ – 73.7M
2) Hulu – 32.5M
3) ESPN+ – 10.3M
Hulu Live subscribers (YoY growth):
1) 2017-Q3 – 300K
2) 2018-Q3 – 1.2M (↑ 300%)
3) 2019-Q3 – 2.7M (↑ 125%)
4) 2020-Q3 – 4.1M (↑ 52%)
Big question #1: What drove subscription growth for Disney+?
Quick answer: The Mandalorian Season 2 drove 3X the normal number of signups.
Interesting: According to ANTENNA, 29% of recent sign-ups were re-subscribers.
Big question #2: How can Disney+ become more significant for Disney?
Quick answer: A rundle.
WTF is a rundle? A rundle is a bundle of services with a recurring revenue (subscription) business model (h/t: Scott Galloway).
A Disney rundle could include:
1) Member-only access to parks
2) Member-only cruises
3) Early access to in-home viewing for tentpole films
Quick math on a Disney rundle:
1) 85M families w/ children in the US, Japan, and the EU
2) 52M subscribe to Disney rundle
3) $50 per month
4) $2.6B per month
5) $31.2B per year
Video: Disney Postmortem: Disney+ Kool-Aid Washes Away Bitter Q4 Aftertaste
More #1: What Disney+ Has Done Right and Wrong One Year Later
More #2: Unleash the Mouse
